What a Hike!: December 16

We awoke at 5 am to perfect hiking weather- overcast and cool. It didn’t take us long to pack up our gear and hit the trail where we were instantly rewarded with a baboon sighting. We once again followed the river and ravine from the day before, winding higher and higher into the mountains. We had a great time observing the ever-varying landscape and stopping frequently to take pictures of, well, everything! Waterfalls, lush vegetation, steep cliffs, amazing views…we were in heaven. After several hours, we came upon a run-down resort pretty much in the middle of nowhere. From there, we traveled much longer than we would have liked on a dirt road before arriving at the parking lot for the Sentinal Trail. Unlike us, this is where pretty much everyone else begins the hike to the top, most of them making it a day trip. We began to understand why as it had already taken us 7 hours to get to this point and the steepest and most challenging parts of the trail still lay ahead.

We checked-in with the rangers stationed at the parking lot, filled up our water and tried to convince our exhausted bodies that we could make it to the top. It was strange to have hiked most of the day in complete solitude to now be met by groups of hikers climbing up and down the trail. We pushed on, climbing higher and higher on ever narrower trails that often had us scrambling over rocks. After another two hours and near the point of exhaustion, we had to make a decision: go back down and spend the night at the ranger station at the parking lot or keep going to the top. It was during this rest break that a group from the backpackers passed us (remember that over-priced guided tour that we turned down, even after being told by the staff that we would never be able to do it on our own, especially in one day). The astonished look on the staff member’s face when he recognized us was all it took; we were making it to the top.

The hike continued to increase in intensity with the scaling of two 30 foot long chain ladders straight up the mountain. With shaky arms and legs, we managed to claw our way to the top. A few wrong turns later and we were finally on the sentinel, a large flat mountain top plateau. After a little searching we were able to locate the camping area near the top of the waterfall (one of the highest in the world) where we were able to set up camp and even snap a few pictures before dark. However, we were not able to cook our freeze dried Indian food before being assaulted by another thunderstorm. Too exhausted to complain, we dined on energy bars and collapsed into our sleeping bags.

pictures: heaven on earth; chain ladders; the top!